ABINGTON, Mass. — The town of Abington has recommended that former school resource officer Josh Heal be stripped of his police certification by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST).
Abington Town Manager Scott Lambaise told investigative reporter Ted Daniel that the new Abington Police Chief submitted a recommendation to “decertify” Heal after POST requested a 2023 town report that detailed Heal’s statements about his relationship with Sandra Birchmore before her alleged murder in February 2021.
POST reached out to the town days before 25 Investigates reported that credible allegations made against Heal were never reported to the state law enforcement watchdog agency.
Those allegations stem from an internal affairs probe Stoughton Police conducted into text messages Massachusetts State Police detectives pulled from Birchmore’s mobile phone after she was found dead in her Canton Apartment in February 2021. State Police assigned to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office initially ruled Birchmore’s death a suicide.
In August, federal authorities charged former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell with murdering Birchmore and staging her death to look like she hung herself. Farwell first met Birchmore when she was a 13-year-old participant in Stoughton’s Police Explorer Program, which teaches young people about jobs in law enforcement.
Then Stoughton Deputy Police Chief Robert Holmes first contacted then-Abington Police Chief David Del Papa in December 2021 to tell him that Heal was a witness in the internal affairs probe.
Months later, Holmes told Del Papa he, “found Josh (Heal) to be not credible because Josh denied having a sexual relationship with Birchmore during the first interview but had changed his answer in the second interview.” Heal met Birchmore when she was an adult in his previous role as a Stoughton Animal Control Officer.
[ 25 Investigates: The Birchmore murder investigation recording you were never supposed to hear ]
Heal resigned “in lieu of discipline” according to POST in February 2023 but has remained “certified” or in good standing as a Massachusetts police officer.
“Law enforcement agencies must submit complaints alleging officer misconduct, including allegations of bias, excessive force, serious injury or death, and unprofessional conduct,” according to POST regulations. Prior to POST reaching out to Abington, the agency said they had no record of any complaints against Heal.
A POST spokesperson said, POST “cannot comment on cases that may be pending.”
An email sent to Heal’s attorney Peter S. Farrell of Duxbury was not immediately returned.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW